Emotions of the Aftermath
by Dawn Redwood
Summary: Some short speculations on what happens post Hak's confession. Each chapter starts from the end of Chapter 152. Hak's got a lot of emotions to sort through. Which one is going to surface to the top?
1. I: Levity

AN: Some short speculations on possibilities for post Hak's confession. Each chapter starts from the end of Chapter 152. Hak's got a lot of emotions to sort through. Which one is going to surface to the top?

I. Levity

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yoon and the dragons wearing dumbstruck expressions matching Yona's.

A chuckle slid from his lips as he glanced around, the situation striking him, suddenly, as hilariously funny.

"Wow. If only I had known that was what it took to get some quiet around here. I could have said this ages ago." He snickered, then broke into laughter as Yoon and the dragons' faces started to look a little worried. Perhaps they were questioning his sanity. He couldn't blame them- never in a hundred years would he had guessed he would lost his temper and bellow his feelings at Yona. The princess's dumbstruck expression was still frozen in place.

He never would have admitted it to anyone else, but he was extremely satisfied by the look on her face…. There was a wildness to her bewildered eyes, her cheeks so red they almost matched her hair.

There. Let HER be the one tied up in knots. For once, he was not going to be the one all twisted up about their relationship. He liked her. That was it. He felt calm. Strangely normal. Cheerful, even.

He raised an eyebrow at Yona, who had fallen to the ground at his proclamation.

"You alright, there?" She was still staring at him, wide-eyed. "Good news, I don't think you can get any redder- oh, never mind." He couldn't help the smirk that curled across his lips as Yona flushed even more. "You look like you need a hand, Princess." He reached out, waiting for her reaction. Her bright eyes blinked.

"Eh-uh- ah," she sputtered, breaking the spellbound trance. Hak gave her a long look.

"That bad?" he wondered aloud, voice thoughtful. After she kissed him, he had- foolishly maybe- thought that – maybe – there was a chance. A chance. The very slightest chance that she had started to care for him as he cared for her. And yet now- he wondered if maybe the dragons were right to worry that he had snapped under pressure- he felt completely at ease with where they were. He was home. He loved her. And he had told her. He would let her be if she asked. "Have I alarmed you, Princess?" he asked softly, starting to pull his hand back-

"No!" He was taken by surprise as Yona snatched his hand, her grip much tighter than he would have expected. "No, I- you-" She floundered for words, much to Hak's amusement. "Stay."

Master and dog, Hak had once heard Zeno describe their relationship with the Princess. The memory made him grin.

"What if I don't want to stay?" he asked, eyes glittering. Before she could protest, he knelt beside her, coming closer. "What if I want to be right here, Princess?" He leaned in, stopping about a foot from her face. He heard her intake of breath. Then she nodded, ever so gently, as if afraid she would spook him. His grin widened, and he moved a few inches closer. "Or here?" Then, determined not to press her too much, he tilted his head to the left, moving away from her. "Or here-" Finally, he heard her huff of exasperation, which set him alight with happiness.

Then she closed the distance.


	2. II: Exasperation

AN: I have a few more ideas... Let me now if I should do more!

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II. Exasperation

He was still breathing heavily. Crossing his hands over his chest, he tried to compose himself, his mind reeling.

 _"Much better,"_ he had just said. Was that even _true?_ He hadn't quite figured that out-

"….Hak?" Yona said in an extremely tiny voice. His eyes snapped to her. He had a sneaking suspicious he knew that voice. It was the "I have another question for you" voice. Eyes averted, she looked caught, like a doe unsure whether it should dart away or stay very still. When she glanced at him sidelong, Hak raised a questioning eyebrow to suggest she could continue. As reluctant as she appeared to pester him more, she may as well say it now. She grimaced, which worried Hak, then muttered something at the ground.

"What's that?" Then, adding to his concern, she buried her face in her hands. "Princess?"

"Never mind!" came a half-muffled yell.

"Oh, to hell with that," he growled. "If you don't ask now, I'm coming over there to drag it out of you." When Yona glared at the ground this time, she spoke loud enough for him to hear. Barely.

"What do you mean... ah, well…. By saying like me?"

DRAGON GODS ABOVE.

His eye twitched.

It continued to twitch.

When he spoke, his voice was dangerously silky.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" Ohhhhh, she definitely looked like she was feeling guilty.

"Well, that, like, means, well, we- there's different meanings," she stammered. Hak could practically feel the steam coming out of his ears.

"Oh? Different meanings?" he echoed. "Different meanings that make total and complete sense after you ask me about my non-existing fiancée?"

"Oh dear. Here we go," Jaeha murmured to his fellow dragons. Hak whipped around to give the Green Dragon a look that would melt scales before turning back to Yona.

"Different meanings, after you kissed me at Ogi's?" This time, when there was a surprised outcry from the dragons, he ignored them, continuing heatedly. "Oh, YES, there are so. Many. Different. Meanings." Aggravated, he threw his hands up in the arm. "Like as in what? Like you as a friend? As a childhood companion? As a servant? After you gave me the charm? How could you possibly not know? After all of these days together?" He stared her down. "You asked if I had a lover? NO! When would I have the time to have a lover, when I'm chasing you through the country? And why would I, when the most beautiful, passionate woman- the strongest woman I know- the woman I love- is right in front of me!" He scowled as he turned away, pacing and throwing his hands this way and that. " _Love._ There's another word with plenty of different meanings. So, Princess, just to clarify, _just for you_ , I don't mean I love you like a brother, or even a devoted servant. I mean the kind of love that leaves me reeling when I look into your eyes. I mean the kind of love that moves me, burns inside of me every day- the kind of love that I would die for, that means I can't live without you, unless it would make you happier, or safer, or-" When he turned, he froze. Yona had stood and come up behind him, now only a few feet from him. She was still flushing, her eyes glittering in a way that made Hak want to sweep her up in his arms. There was a long silence, in which Hak tried to catch his breath.

Yona tilted her head to one side, watching him. To his surprise, a tiny smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

"Hak. If you are going to say such nice things, can't you be a little more romantic about it?" His jaw dropped in astonishment, as a memory of him teasing her crept into the back of his mind. He glowered.

"You aren't taking this very seriously." He exhaled, trying to stay annoyed, even as her smile pushed all those feelings away. "Here I am, spilling my guts, and-"

"Hak?" Yona took his hand. For a moment, he relented.

"What?"

"...can I ask you one more question?"

"Absolutely not."

"…."

"…."

"Hak…."

"No."

"Haaaaak…."

"No, noooo, nope."

"Hak!"

"Try again tomorrow, Princess." Still red, she pouted slightly, and soldiered on.

"... would it be alright... if I kissed you again?" Finally, a grin broke out across his face.

"Deeeeeeeeeefinitely not."

"EHHH?! But you said-"

"You asked, I answered." He smirked, leaning in. "Because this time, _I_ am going to kiss _you_."


	3. III Panic

Thank you, all reviewers! :D It makes me happy to hear that other people are bugging out about the last chapter too! (Yes, I totally get the need for something to read while waiting on the next chapter! I was on Fanfiction straight after reading that, wanting some fiction... then I had to write it myself instead!)

Regarding **malina16** 's need for some happy endings and **Lara D NLI** 's need for some resolution (YES I AM TOTALLY WITH YOU GUYS!) ... unfortunately, I think there is a really high probability of the next chapter of the manga picking up with another distraction/crisis that occupies (most) of their attention. Either someone else who needs help, or Soo-won is going to show up. I also think it is likely at some point that SW will try to wave the white flag and either try to get a partnership going (maaaaybe with a marriage proposal wrapped up in it) or need their help with something, before the romantic resolution. This is unlikely to shake Yona's feelings but I think it'll mess with Hak a lot, possibly even lead to a really emotionally charged fight. Hmmmmm... maybe this is the start of a new short fanfic by yours truly... XD

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 _III. Panic_

Watching Yona's face turn a brilliant scarlet, Hak had, for a moment, felt contentment, satisfied with the surety of his words stemming from righteous indignation and exhaustion. His confidence, however, was now eroding by the second, falling away as the enormity of his words dawned on him.

What had he done?

One last quick glance at Yona, who looked like she was on the verge of imploding, spurred him to action. Without another word he strode off, legs propelling him asap.

 _What have I done?_

Years and years of upholding a commitment to silence, a commitment to service... And what had he done? He had thrown it all to the wind, in the blink of an eye. Because of Mundok's stupid running joke, of all things.

The princess counted on him- she had asked him to stay with her, and he had thrown his feelings into the thick of it all. What had possessed him to do that? There was no taking it back- he had made sure she had heard it, loud and clear, after all. He considered taking I back, for a moment- _it was a joke, Princess. You misunderstood, Princess. I needed to get you back for stressing me out so much, Princess. You now the very sight of your hair repels me, Princess._

He buried his face in his face, groaned loudly, and shook his head. He would have to be cruel-extremely cruel- to get her to believe him. He couldn't do that, not to her. He would not sacrifice her feelings to protect himself. Besides, he had seen the look on her face- and he was pretty certain that no amount of blustering would cover up his actions this time. She _knew._

So that was it then. She would-

What _would_ she do? A myriad of possibilities raced through his mind. He began to pace.

 _Laugh?_

 _Avoid him?_

No. He knew what would happen.

She would be kind. She would hesitate, a little, maybe, and then gently let him down. And then where would they be?

He kicked up some grass and paced some more, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Damn it," he hissed. "Damn it, damn it, dammit, dammit, dammit!"

Maybe he should go with the Wind Tribe after all.

Maybe Yona would insist he go, now.

Now that he had shown... failure. Failure to uphold his silence. Failure to prioritise her needs, over all else, which included his own feelings.

Or maybe, now, after he had told her that she and the dragons were his home, she would feel guilty, unable to send him away. Willing to endure for the sake of his feelings.

If that were the case, he needed to leave, to vanish-

His skin was flushed. He felt like he was burning up, overly warm even in the shade of the trees. He charged ahead, following a narrow path down to the nearby stream, and knelt down to dunk his head in the cool water.

"HAK!" He nearly fell in at the sound of her alarmed cry. Scrambling to his feet, he looked upstream, in the direction of Yona's voice, then raced off over boulders and into small eddies. As he turned the bend, moving past a large oak, he saw her, wide-eyed and frantic. When she met his gaze, she yelped, and fell into the water. The steam was shallow, but she still plunged down several feet, creating a large splash.

"YONA!" As he reached her, he pulled her against his side and whipped around, looking for whatever it was that had caused her to cry out in alarm. "What is it?" He cursed to himself- now, of all times to unarmed! The dragons were surely near-! "What's wrong?"

The princess let out a deep breath, her wet fingers clinging to his robe. They were both soaked.

"I thought you decided to leave." He blinked, then looked away from the trees surrounding them, and down at her.

"Oh," he said, rather stupidly, he thought in the back of his mind. The chill of the water had purged all of the panicked energy of a moment before. "Would- do you want me to?" The look of alarm in her eyes warmed his heart. Without words, she shut her eyes and shook her head vehemently, still holding on to him. He laughed softly. When she stopped shaking her head, he gently pressed his forehead against hers. "Then I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
